(4) 4-6 Translated by Ian Frazier. Illustrated by Katya Arnold. In eight stories and two poems by the post-Revolutionary-Russia absurdist author Kharms, readers meet a parade of characters from the clutzy carpenter Kushakoff to a five-legged, coffee-spilling crow. While the stories are appealingly ridiculous, older readers who'll have some grasp of the philosophical and political statements embedded in the work may be the best audience for the book. Sketchy drawings rendered with a bold black line are energetic but sometimes distracting.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute